If You Didn\’t Measure It - You Didn\’t Do It! Part 1

October 10, 2008 4:35 pm RSS Feed Icon Management

If you\'re going to spend money doing something, the only way to know if you accomplished your goal is to measure it. Here is a tool that works well to both define the problem and provide a yardstick against which to measure results.

The analysis breaks down into three main components:

  • Need - What is the problem, and what is the result we expect from the money we are about to invest?

  • Content - How will we move people to the desired result?

  • Measurement - Did you actually meet, or better, exceed, the goals?
    • \r

    Need drives the entire process. You are not going to spend the money to do something that doesn\'t need to be done. You have a situation or a problem - and it usually has a measurable cost - and you need to solve that problem, to eliminate, or at least significantly reduce that cost.

    We may have to invest time or money to solve the problem, but if the problem is well defined and quantified, not only can we reduce or eliminate the problem with appropriately targeted communications; we can measure how well we did it. It could be increased sales, increased signups for a new program, or broader support within a community for a new service or idea. Whatever it is, it must have the necessary yardstick for success.

    Let\'s use an example to illustrate how this process functions and how well it can work.

    Several years ago, a company was planning to introduce a new product into a saturated marketplace. The new product represented major innovations, and would likely have been very successful by itself, but the company needed to ensure that success and overcome several other issues. We\'ll start the story of the launch in this article, and follow it through two more articles.

    The NEED - The situation or problem:

    • Moderate existing market share for existing product, #2 in sales

    • Lack of respect for the company because of \"me too\" parity products in the past

    • Low company sales force morale from carrying unexciting products

    • Lack of personal contact by company executives with dealers across the country

    • An exciting new product to launch, including many firsts, under a new brand umbrella, based on a new and very unfamiliar technology
      • \r

      The GOALS - what were the desired measurable results?

      • Capture #1 sales position in the marketplace, as measured by published industry data

      • Establish the new brand with dealers and consumers

      • Build new levels of respect for the company brand and their sales force in the market place

      • Dealer owners pleased with personal contact with company executives

      • Retail clerks educated and excited about the new product, and motivated to sell the product and the company

      • A memorable event to keep the company \"top of mind\" for the foreseeable future.
        • \r

        The Obstacles:

        • Low respect for company in the market place - would dealers even listen?

        • Large number of outlets and clerks to be informed/trained/motivated across the market, preferably in as short a time as possible

        • The introduction would be in January/February, the worst time to travel a show around the country.
          • \r

          You can see how all of these elements defined the measurement criteria. Sales can be plotted against the launch. Market share is a standard industry published statistic, and can be plotted against the time of the launch. Respect will be reflected in the attitudes of the retail clerks to the sales representatives calling on the stores and the how the products and the company are received after the launch. This, and how well the event was remembered, would show up in weekly sales call reporting.

          Observable, accurate, and actionable. The hallmarks of good metrics.

          This is the first of Three Parts of this story.

          Part 2 is here: http://www./?id=899065

          Part 3 is here: http://www./?id=886852

          Copyright 2008 Dan Davenport

          Dan Davenport is an award-winning business communications producer: Multimedia, video, print.

          Goal: Bring excitement to business communications.

          Look to http://blog.smallofficecommunicator.net to blog with us about small office communication ideas and answers - share your own experience with others and get answers to your questions.

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